Story Matters

THE Official HHS Football Site

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands Co-Head Football Coach Brian Weinrich guides the players in a recent offseason workout. The Bluebirds expect to have about 100 players on the sidelines this fall.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The
Highlands Bluebirds football tradition of outworking opponents in the offseason
seems to be continuing this winter.

About a
month after winning their state-record sixth consecutive state championship,
the returning players hit the conditioning and weight lifting regime hard. The
players work out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

If opposing
players, coaches and fans were astonished at the number of players on the Blue
and White sideline last year, this will really blow them away. It’s a reason
the Bluebirds tend to be deeper than most of their opponents and are currently
tied with Honolulu Iolani (Hawaii) High School for the most consecutive state
championships in the country.

“We have had about 80 guys show up each day,” said Dale Mueller, Highlands co-head coach. “During the winter, the 20 basketball
players and one swimmer that will play football didn’t attend so we expect
about 100 guys on the team next year.”

The
Bluebirds dressed 91 players on varsity last year. They faced some opponents
that had about 30 to 40 players on the sidelines.

“When you have as many people that we have that come
out for weight and conditioning, it creates more depth on the team,” said Kyle Thurston, Highlands rising senior offensive
lineman. “Everybody wants to play. We
all try as hard as we can to get on the field.”

There were
many times that Highlands faced better players in practice. But they still made
sure they dominated the opponents. They knew they would not play if they did
not play hard.

“When you have numbers like that, you just have more
chances of developing more quality athletes,” said Brian Weinrich, Highlands co-head coach. “It’s a good problem right now because of the space. We’re trying to
find places to put everybody. We’re pretty creative in the things we do.”

A typical
day starts with stretching, lifting weights then doing different workouts on a
daily basis. Weinrich said the emphasis is to work different muscles and
develop the total body. Weinrich also said the staff wants to find workouts
that challenge the bodies and minds of the players. This includes position work.

“It’s definitely all worth it,” said Seth Hope, Highlands rising senior defensive
lineman. “Even though it’s really tough,
I like doing it, especially after we win all these games and have all these
rings. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing. We’re all friends.”

The
Bluebirds pride themselves on having players go just one way. They often wore
down opponents doing that. They get to spend extra work on that one position as
opposed to splitting up the week with both positions.

“We were talking in the weight room as coaches that we
almost feel bad because we don’t have to be in their face,” Weinrich said. “We
can walk around and talk to the guys. They’re so self-motivated right now that
it’s almost scary. With that, we can find time to have some fun. We’re going to
get better at the end of the day.”

The
Bluebirds know they have to keep the motivation level high because every team
is gunning for them. But Highlands has withstood pretty much every challenge
going 87-3 in the last six years.

“You have to do everything hard. You can’t hold back
on anything,” Thurston said. “Even if the people you face are small, you
still have to go 100 percent. We just want to win every game by as much as we
can and not hold back on anything.”

Mueller
said the one loss last year 38-24 to Cincinnati Elder made the Bluebirds
stronger. The defensive line is trying to better prepare for huge offensive
lines.

“Last year, I was at 230 pounds and was the biggest guy
on the field on the defense,” Hope
said. “Some of those guys were pushing
350. Right after that loss, we started lifting every day before every practice
to get bigger and stronger to compete at the next level. That’s the only thing
that held us back. We’re going to make that extra push to get to the top on the
national stage.”

In other
news, Highlands recently had a big-name visitor on campus. Ohio State head
coach Urban Meyer came to Fort Thomas. The Buckeyes are recruiting Hope.

“I’m real close to making my dreams happen,” Hope said. “I
always wanted to play (NCAA) Division I college football. We’ll see what kind
of opportunities come at the end of next year.”

The regular
season starts in August. Highlands will face six different opponents this year.
More details will come when the schedule is finalized.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

G. Michael Graham Photo. The Newport Central Catholic students showed up in full force in Tuesday's 9th Region quarterfinal game against the Holmes Bulldogs. The Bulldogs won 55-50 to end the Thoroughbreds season.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

HIGHLAND
HEIGHTS – It marked a tough end to a great season.

Arguably
the two best teams in the 9th Region drew each other in the region
quarterfinals and things turned the other direction. The Covington Holmes
Bulldogs defeated the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds 55-50 win Tuesday
at Northern Kentucky University’s Bank of Kentucky Center in front of a nice
crowd.

NewCath had
not been shooting well entering the tournament and it hurt in the loss. The
Thoroughbreds made just 18-of-48 shots for 38 percent including five
three-pointers and 9-of-12 free throws for 75 percent.

“They were sagging and leaving us open from 15 feet (out),” said Grant Brannen, NewCath head coach. “We weren’t knocking down shots. Knocking
down shots in the end is different than knocking down shots in the first 30
minutes.”

Holmes did
not shoot much better making just 16-of-44 shots for 36 percent. But the
Bulldogs did make 19-of-30 free-throw tries for 63 percent.

Sophomore
James “Beetle” Bolden spearheaded the Bulldog charge with 22 points. He made
two three-pointers and 6-of-7 free throws.

“It was a total team effort,” said Jason Booher, Holmes head coach. “Our defense was outstanding. Like I told
the guys, it wasn’t going to be another 88-85 double-overtime game. I knew it
would be in the 30s, 40s, maybe the 50s. But these guys scrapped and clawed
every defensive possession.”

Bolden
scored 11 points in that third quarter when Holmes pulled away. The Bulldogs
turned a 24-23 advantage into a 35-25 lead with an 11-2 run. Bolden had six
points and two assists during the run. The Bulldogs ran their transition
offense well during that run.

Sophomore
Drew McDonald kept NewCath in the game with 13 of his team-high 19 points in
the third quarter. The Thoroughbreds used a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 35-32
in the third before Bolden hit a jumper with three seconds left to make it
37-32 Holmes entering the fourth quarter.

“We knew we had to play really well to beat them,” said Nick Seibert, NewCath forward. “They’re a very good team and we just didn’t
execute on our plays. I’m proud of all my teammates and will miss all of them.”

The only
other double-digit scorer for either team was NewCath guard Michael Bueter with
12 points. Bueter’s hit three three-pointers in the final two minutes of the
game including one at the buzzer. Bueter, Jake Schulte and Bolden all had to
sit a good portion of the second half with foul trouble.

The
rebounding against a smaller team really hurt NewCath. The Thoroughbreds won
that battle just 34-33. Chris Englemon led everyone with 14 rebounds for
Holmes.

“If we don’t outrebound or be right there with them,
we have no chance to win the game,”
Booher said. “They get a lot of scoring
on offensive putbacks with those two trees (Schulte and McDonald) in there.”

Both teams
recorded 10 offensive rebounds each. McDonald had 11 to record a double-double
for NewCath and Schulte had nine.

“We did a good job of limiting them to one shot the
first time,” Brannen said. “We were unable to do that this time.”

NewCath did
have more assists and blocks than Holmes with 13 and four respectively. Zach
Pangallo led NewCath with five assists and Jake Schulte led the Thoroughbreds
with two rejections. McDonald added four assists and a block.

Holmes had
seven assists and no blocks. Bolden led the Bulldogs with five assists.

The game
stayed close in the first half with the foul trouble. It was tied at 10 at
halftime and McDonald scored to give the Thoroughbreds a 19-18 halftime
advantage.

McDonald
scored again to give NewCath a 21-18 lead with 6:29 left in the third quarter.
But Bolden scored two buckets in a 6-0 Holmes run to put the Bulldogs up 24-21
with five minutes left.

Both teams
struggled in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Bolden hit two free
throws to put Holmes up 44-35 with 2:08 remaining.

NewCath did
cut the lead to four with less than a minute to go with a three-pointer at
51-47. But Holmes made 4-of-8 free throws to pull away.

The
Thoroughbreds graduate Bueter, Seibert, Brennan Devoto, Colin Dupont and Jake
Haas. They still won the All “A” State Tournament, the Ashland Invitational and
fifth consecutive 36th District title.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

G. Michael Graham Photos. Above, Highlands post Jesse "Dirt" Daley (24) and Vanessa Fisse (15) get down in defensive position in a recent game against Simon Kenton. Below, Newport Central Catholic guard Zach Pangallo (11) brings the ball up-court in the All "A" State Tournament while Jake Schulte (33) gets in position. Both teams drew Covington Holmes to open the 9th Region Tournament.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

COVINGTON –
The 9th Region basketball draw worked out well for one 36th District champion
and not so well for the other in terms of overall matchups.

Both the
Highlands Bluebirds girls (24-7) and Newport Central Catholic boys (28-2) basketball
teams drew the respective teams from Covington Holmes in Saturday’s draw held
at Covington Holmes. The tournament will again be held at Northern Kentucky
University’s Bank of Kentucky Center.

The blind
draw pitted the four district champions against the four district runners-up in
the first round. District opponents went to different sides of the bracket.

Both Holmes
teams finished as 35th District runners-up. The injury-riddled Lady Bulldogs (13-17)
lost to Notre Dame, 58-37 and the Bulldogs fell 73-72 to the Covington Catholic
Colonels when Colonel junior Nick Ruthsatz hit a half-court three-pointer as
time expired.

Highlands
handled visiting Holmes, 76-60 on Jan. 31 during its eight-game winning
streak. The Bluebirds have won 13 of their last 14 contests on their way to their
first district championship since back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008. The
teams meet at 8 p.m. Friday.

On the
other side, NewCath ventured across the Licking River to face then-25-0 Holmes
and outlasted the Bulldogs, 88-85 in double overtime on Feb. 8. The
Thoroughbreds have won 18 in a row. The teams meet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

The Lady
Bulldogs have won just two of their last eight contests. Head coach Scott Calcaterra
said nine of his 19 players in the program have suffered injuries this year,
including two injuries. Senior Tamra Holder went down against Holy Cross in the
35th Semifinals. Teammates Amanda Johnson and Deja Turner have also sat out with
injuries at times this year. But Highlands will prepare for them as if Holder
is going to play.

“You always want to prepare for the best they’re going
to offer,” said Jaime Walz-Richey, Highlands
head coach. “Turner is an outstanding
guard that can really shoot the moment she comes into the gym so we have to be
aware of her. We just have to be ready to go on Friday.”

Calcaterra
knows he will have “a lot of sleepless nights” preparing Holmes for the deepest
team in the region. The Senior Twin Towers in Jesse “Dirt” Daley and Leah Schaefer
lead the way along with Brianna Adler. But other players like Ava Abner, Vanessa
Fisse, Emilie Parton, Haley Coffey, Alex Combs, Lydia Graves and McKenzie Leigh
have found ways to contribute this year.

Calcaterra
jokingly said he may try to play stall ball the way Highlands did against Notre
Dame last year in the first round of the tournament in a 13-8 defeat. But he
admitted the players would not have the patience for that.

“We’ll watch a lot of game film from the time we
played,” Calcaterra said. “I’ll have to really sit down and try to
figure out a strategy. We’re hoping we can build off last year with the experience
of getting to the regional tournament and play with a little bit of confidence.
It’s going to boil down to playing better defense for us.”

NewCath has
been receiving teams’ best shots and expects nothing different in the
tournament with Holmes. The Thoroughbreds have made the last two regional
championships before losing close games to Boone County last year and Dixie
Heights two years ago.

NewCath is
the favorite because of its size. The All “A” State Champions start 6-foot-5-inch
Nick Seibert, 6-6 Drew McDonald and 6-8 Jake Schulte and bring 6-4 Ben Weyer off
the bench. But guards Micheael Bueter, Zach Pangallo, Colin Dupont and Brennan
Devoto need to hit crucial outside shots to keep teams from collapsing on the
tall players.

“We’re going to have to play to our identity like we
have been all year,” said Grant
Brannen, NewCath head coach. “We haven’t
been shooting well lately and we’ll have to guard well. To win it, we’ll have
to go through three really tough teams.”

Holmes (28-2) will
counter with its quickness led by sophomore James Bolden. The Thoroughbreds
need to keep Bolden out of the middle. He likes to drive and either shoot or
dish off to wide-open teammates when opponents slide into the lane to teammates
like Daquan Palmer and Rashawn Coston.

“You’re talking about two Top 10 teams in the state,” Brannen said. “It
wasn’t the ideal draw. But you’re eventually going to have to face (the
Bulldogs) anyway. It is a tough draw, but you have to go with it. That’s the
great thing about the season. You never know what’s going to happen.”

Not only
did Highlands avoid favorite Notre Dame (23-5) in the first two round of the
tournament, the Bluebirds also managed to avoid a possible second-round matchup
with the Boone County Lady Rebels (17-11). Boone County and veteran head coach
Nell Fookes have won three of the last four region crowns and five of the
previous nine.

Highlands
did manage to knock off Boone County twice, including a 61-35 domination in
Florence on Jan. 16. But teams still know they’re up against a veteran head
coach in Fookes, who knows how to pull off magic in the postseason. In a down
year after the graduation of current Florida Gator Sydney Moss, Boone County
still won the 33rd District as a four seed.

Highlands
finished 14-2 in region play, including 8-1 against the rest of the field. The
two losses came to Notre Dame, 63-48 on Jan. 8 and Newport Central Catholic,
56-54 on Jan. 4. Notre Dame finished undefeated in region play at 13-0. The
Pandas have won 12 in a row. The Bluebirds avenged the loss to NewCath in the 36th Semifinals, 48-40.

A win over Holmes
pits the Bluebirds against either Dixie Heights (16-15) or Ryle (11-18).
Highlands beat both teams by a combined 64 points during the regular season.
Former Highlands and Xavier standout Tara Boothe-Smith coached Dixie Heights to
its first 34th District title since 2008 in her second year as head coach after
serving as an assistant at Highlands.

“It’s really exciting for me and the kids on the team,”
Smith said. “They’ve worked their butts off to have that opportunity.”

Smith would
not look beyond Ryle. But a second-round matchup would match the top two career
scoring leaders in Highlands girls hoops history against each other for the
third time. That semifinal game takes place Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The championship
game is Monday at 7 p.m.

On the other
side, the Thoroughbreds finished 18-1 in region play. Their lone loss came 50-48
to Covington Catholic on The Hill on Jan. 10.

If NewCath
survives the battle against Holmes, the Thoroughbreds will face either Cooper
(23-5) or St. Henry (10-15) in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The title
game is 6 p.m. Sunday.

The
Thoroughbreds did manage to avoid facing two of the best players in the region
in the first two rounds. Dixie Heights (17-13) features junior 2,000-point
career scorer Brandon Hatton and Covington Catholic (25-6) features Ruthsatz.

Both teams
will be playing on a large floor. The teams will see a lot of space behind the
baskets unlike normal high school gyms.

“It shouldn’t bother shooters because all shooters
have one spot they look at when they shoot,” Richey said. “They may need to
make some adjustments in warm-ups. But after that, they should be good to go.”

Both teams
are looking for their first region crowns in quite some time. Highlands last
won the region in 2001 and NewCath last won the title in 2000.

When teams
come in heavily favored, they tend to look at opponents and think, “Oh. They’re
no good. We can take the night off.”

The
Highlands Bluebirds girls coaching staff made sure the hosts (24-7) washed away
any traces of that mentality quickly in the 36th District Championship game
here Friday. Head Coach Jaime Walz-Richey and staff benched the starters with
5:20 left in the first quarter and just a 2-0 lead on two Jesse “Dirt” Daley
free throws.

The
Bluebirds responded well. The reserved used a 7-0 run to put Highlands up 15-7
after the first quarter and cruised to a 66-27 win over the Newport Lady
Wildcats (18-12) for its first district championship since consecutive titles
in 2007 and 2008. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds won the previous
four titles.

“We told them we have to be prepared from here on out,” Richey said. “We
can’t have mental lapses like we did. We didn’t have energy to begin the game.
That’s why I benched them and brought my subs in.”

Vanessa
Fisse scored seven of her 12 points in the first quarter for Highlands. The
Bluebirds led just 8-7. But Fisse started the 7-0 run with a three-pointer and
jumper on the left side. McKenzie Leigh finished it with a lay-up.

“We just had to show (Newport) respect and play
against them the way we did against NewCath,” said Emilie Parton, Highlands senior. “That’s how we knew we were going to win. We had to step it up and play
good defense or we were going to see the bench like (the starters) were.”

The
Bluebirds had too much depth for the Lady Wildcats. They saw 10 different
players score to just four for the visitors. Tournament Most Valuable Player
Brianna Adler led Highlands making five three-pointers on her way to 15 points
and Leah Schaefer followed with 10. Schaefer and Fisse also made the All-Tournament
team with NewCath forward Stephanie Lewis.

Schaefer
let out a scream after the game. In addition to winning their first district
title while in high school, the Bluebirds also ended an eight-game losing
streak to the rival Thoroughbreds in the semifinals Tuesday as a result of the
blind draw.

“I’m so excited,” Schaefer said. “I’m not sure
why we started off slow. The subs picked it up and did really well for us. We
have a really deep bench and everyone on this team can play so if someone is
having a bad game, someone else can go in and pick up where we left off.”

Highlands
made 24-of-49 shots for 49 percent, including eight three-pointers. The
Bluebirds also did well from the free-throw line again making 10-of-12 attempts
for 83 percent.

Newport
made just 10-of-43 shots for 23 percent including three triples and 4-of-6 free
throws for 67 percent. Kylie Orr led the Lady Wildcats with 11 points.

The
Bluebirds pressured the Lady Wildcats all over the court forcing 23 turnovers
on 20 steals while committing 11 on nine Newport steals. Fisse led Highlands
with four thefts with Schaefer and Lydia Graves recording three each.

“We knew we could go deep in our bench this game,” Richey said. “We
wanted to use that to our advantage to get all the girls experience in the
district tournament. At one time, I had all my freshmen along with Alex (Combs)
and Lydia (Graves) out there. Usually when they’re in, Haley (Coffey) and
Brianna are out.”

The
Bluebirds did a great job balancing between going for steals and committing
fouls. They committed just eight to nine for Newport. Only one Highlands player
finished with more than one foul.

“You have to pretty much be in help side or denying
the ball,” Adler said. “When you’re in help defense, you have to
run and get it and try not to slap (opponents). We got in foul trouble once
before and it wasn’t very pretty. So we tried to get in help side and get the
pass.”

The
Bluebirds also did a better job distributing the ball then the Lady Wildcats
and controlling the paint. Highlands had 15 assists to seven for Newport. Adler
led Highlands with four assists.

The
Bluebirds also turned away six Newport shots to three blocks for the Lady
Wildcats. Leigh led Highlands with three blocks.

Highlands
put the game away with a 12-0 run to start the second quarter. Adler made two
three-pointers and Schaefer scored three buckets during that run that gave the
Bluebirds a 27-7 advantage with 4:35 left in the half.

Highlands
led 35-14 before another 7-0 run expanded the lead to 42-14 at halftime. Adler
made another three-pointer with Graves recording a steal and coast-to coast
score and Coffey making two free throws.

The Bluebirds
used another 9-0 run to go up 51-16 with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter and
enforce the running clock. Schafer scored two buckets to lead the run.

Highlands
finished that quarter with another 7-0 run to go up 63-20 entering the fourth
quarter. Combs scored her four points during that Bluebird run.

The biggest
lead of the game for Highlands came at 43 points with 7:36 left in the game. Graves
gave the Bluebirds that lead with a free throw.

Highlands
will be going for its first regional title since 2001 starting early next week
at the Bank of Kentucky Center at Northern Kentucky University. The Bluebirds
won three consecutive regional titles when Richey played in 1994, 1995 and
1996. Highlands finished state runner-up during Richey’s sophomore season in
1994.

Friday, February 22, 2013

The Newport
Central Catholic Thoroughbreds boys basketball team knows it will have to withstand
the best shots from opponents to reach more goals.

But the
Thoroughbreds are just fine with that. Battle-tested NewCath has withstood
tough challenges all season on its way to Ashland Invitational Tournament and
All “A” State Tournament championships. Add a fifth consecutive 36th District
Championship to the impressive year with Thursday’s 50-42 win over the Newport
Wildcats at Highlands.

“It’s never easy, especially against a Newport team
that’s really good and well-coached,”
said Grant Brannen, NewCath head coach. “We
came and missed some shots. They missed some shots. But in the end, it was a
nice win. We’ve built our season with championships. But our toughest road is
ahead of us for sure.”

NewCath won
its 18th consecutive game with its third win over the Wildcats (20-10) to move
to 30-2 on the season. The Thoroughbreds also beat the in-town rivals, 80-51 on
The Hill on Jan. 2 before beating them again, 61-54 just 17 days later to
capture the All “A” 9th Region title at Bellevue.

“I like it like that because no game is going to be
easy,” said Nick Seibert, NewCath
senior. “We come in the mindset that we’re
going to win every game. We come in and work as hard as we can knowing
(opponents) are not going to lay down.”

NewCath also
had to beat Highlands a second time on Tuesday to make the district
championship. But while the first win meant the Thoroughbreds won’t see the
Bluebirds again this season, they could again face the Wildcats in the 9th
Region championship game at Northern Kentucky University.

NewCath did
a good job in the half-court game on both ends. Offensively, the Thoroughbreds
worked the ball inside to its tall players and Newport had no answer for
6-foot-6-inch Tournament Most Valuable Player Drew McDonald. McDonald dominated
the Wildcats for 22 points making 10-of-18 field-goal attempts to go with six
rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

“Drew has been a force all year,” Brannen said. “He
didn’t have a very good first quarter. I was wondering if he could walk and
chew gum at the same time so I asked him. But in the second quarter, he came
through and played really well the rest of the game.”

The
Thoroughbreds received their usual balance. Zach Pangallo, Michael Bueter and
Seibert scored eight each to follow McDonald. Bueter and Seibert also made the
All-Tournament team along with Highlands senior Luke Turner.

NewCath
made 20-of-50 shots for 40 percent with no three-pointers and 10-of-14 free
throws for 71 percent. Seibert led the Thoroughbreds making 4-of-6 free throws
with Pangallo, Bueter and McDonald all making both free-throw attempts.

Defensively,
NewCath played a 1-3-1 trapping zone using its size to make things difficult
for the Newport guards. The Wildcats turned the ball over 11 times to nine for
the Thoroughbreds.

NewCath
contained the Newport brother guard tandem of JaSean and JaQuan Short. The duo
combined for just nine points after scoring 31 in the All “A” 9th Region title
game.

“We wanted to keep pressure on (the Short brothers)
and not let them get open shots,”
Seibert said. “We knew we could force
turnovers with our length and that’s what we did.”

Their
teammates tried to pick up the slack. Marquis Commodore led the Wildcats making
4-of-4 free-throw tries for 12 points with Cody Pearson and Aroyal Wright
scoring eight each.

The
Wildcats hit 17-of-49 shots for 35 percent with three-pointers from JaSean
Short and Ethan Snapp. They also made 6-of-8 free-throw tries for 75 percent.

The teams
made things difficult near the basket. NewCath rejected eight shots led by four
from Jake Schulte and Newport turned away seven led by Commodore with three.

Both teams
recorded 33 rebounds. Commodore led Newport with 15 for a double-double and
Schulte grabbed 13 for the victors.

The squads
battled to an 8-8 tie after the first quarter. Newport led 14-10 early in the
second before McDonald scored twice to give NewCath a 16-14 lead with 3:58
remaining.

After the
Wildcats tied the game at 16, the Thoroughbreds finished the quarter with an
8-0 run to go up 24-16 for good. McDonald hit a jumper in the center to finish
off that scoring.

NewCath
built the lead to double-digits in the third quarter. The Thoroughbreds led 38-26
entering the fourth quarter. They led by 14 by a 38-24 score at one point after
Bueter hit two free throws after Wright received a technical foul coming up-court
and McDonald hit a jumper.

The
Thoroughbreds increased the lead to 14 twice in the fourth before the Wildcats
used a 6-0 run to cut the margin to eight. Newport cut the margin to 44-37 with
1:36 remaining before the Thoroughbreds made six consecutive free throws to ice
the game.

Thoroughbred
reserves Ben Weyer, Colin Dupont and Brennan Devoto came in contributed some to
give the starters relief. Weyer said the upperclassmen are doing a great job
being examples to younger players.

NewCath
will not know its first-round opponent until the 9th Region draw takes place at
Holmes at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Thoroughbreds take on the losing team from
either the 33rd, 34th or 35th District championship games to be played Friday.

Many felt
the 9th Region preseason favorites would again run away with this boys basketball contest.

But the
hosts did not let their season end without a fight staying in the game until
the end. The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds built a lead behind Michael
Bueter’s shooting and held off the host Highlands Bluebirds, 47-38 in the 36th
District Semifinals on Tuesday.

NewCath won
its 17th straight overall to move to 29-2 and Highlands’ finished the season at
12-16 for a two-game improvement over last year. The Thoroughbreds have won
seven in a row in the series including a 59-22 victory in Fort Thomas on Jan.
22.

“That’s a hostile environment,” said Grant Brannen, NewCath head coach. “I told everyone and nobody believed me. It
was going to be a tough one. We knew Highlands had a bad game that last time.”

The
Bluebirds came into the game playing their best basketball of the season. They
finished the regular season with three consecutive wins.

“It was late in the year,” said Mike Flynn, Highlands head coach of the team
coming together. “But it’s never too
late. Our guys showed tremendous character. (NewCath) is a better basketball
team obviously. I thought we outfought them and outworked them.”

NewCath
will shoot for its fifth consecutive district championship Thursday at 7 p.m.
back at Highlands. The Thoroughbreds face either Newport (19-9) for the third
time this year or Bellevue (14-15) for the second time this year. NewCath beat
Newport in a regular-season matchup before downing both teams in the All “A” 9th
Region Tournament.

“That was a very ugly win,” said Jake Schulte, NewCath post. “We knew they’d come out with nothing to lose. We’re happy we’re back
in region this year. Our main goal has been to get to Rupp (Arena for the state
tournament) ever since losing in the regional finals last year.”

Michael
Bueter’s outside shooting in the first half turned out to be the difference in
the game. He made four three-pointers all in that half to lead the
Thoroughbreds with 17 points.

“It was huge,”
Bueter said. “(Highlands) was packing it
in to make it tough to get the ball inside to our bigs. We needed someone to
knock down outside shots to get them open. That’s what I was doing.”

Bueter made
three triples in a row to give NewCath the lead for good with an 11-0 run to
start the second quarter. Nick Seibert started the run with an offensive putback.
The Thoroughbreds led 18-9 with 4:12 left in the second quarter.

Late in the
game, NewCath made its free throws to pull away. The Thoroughbreds hit 12-of-15
for the game for 80 percent, including 6-of-9 for 67 percent in the fourth
quarter.

Drew
McDonald made 9-of-10 free throws to lead NewCath on his way to 13 points. The
other three starters in Seibert, Jake Schulte and Zach Pangallo scored six
points each to round out the Thoroughbred scoring. McDonald also grabbed 14
rebounds for a double-double.

“Give Highlands credit,” Brannen said. “Coach
Flynn had a great game plan and took away all our stuff. We missed our first
six shots. I don’t care what people say. You have to knock down the outside
shot if they’re going to leave you wide open.”

The
Bluebirds saw three players reach double-digits. Drew Houliston and Luke Turner
led the way with 12 each and Bailey Witte scored 10. Highlands made 4-of-7 free
throws for 57 percent.

“We knew Turner and Houliston were the two guys who
could shoot,” Brannen said. “They hit some timely three’s.”

Both teams
shot just 31 percent from the field. NewCath made 16-of-51 shots including four
three-pointers and Highlands made 15-of-49 with five three-pointers. Houliston
and Turner made two each and Witte made the other.

“As usual, I wish we could have shot better,” Flynn said. “That
was our bugaboo all year. But as far as effort is concerned, I could not be
happier.”

Highlands
won the rebounding battle against the taller Thoroughbreds, 40-33. Nick True
led the Bluebirds with 10 rebounds and Schulte followed McDonald with eight.

But NewCath
did reject seven shots to one for Highlands and recorded 12 steals on 20
Bluebird turnovers. The Bluebirds had just five steals on 10 NewCath turnovers.
Pangallo recorded five steals for the Thoroughbreds with Bueter and McDonald
rejecting two shots each. Turner recorded three steals for Highlands.

The
Bluebirds led a couple times in the first quarter. Karl Hinkel had a
three-point play with 17 seconds left to put Highlands up 9-7 after the first
quarter.

Highlands
cut the margin to three at 28-25 late in the third after a Houliston
three-pointer. But Bueter and Seibert buckets gave NewCath a 32-25 advantage
heading into the fourth quarter. The Bluebirds came no closer than seven in the
final quarter.

The Bluebirds
graduate four seniors. They are Turner, Witte, Hinkel and Jake Gronotte.

G. Michael Graham Photo. Highlands freshman Brianna Adler (10) prepares to shoot a free throw in Tuesday's 36th District Semifinal contest against Newport Central Catholic. Adler made 10-of-11 free throws on her way to a team-high 12 points. The Bluebirds made 23-of-25 free throws on their way to a 48-40 win and snap the Thoroughbreds eight-game winning streak in the series.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

In a game
that a blind draw unfortunately meant the end of the season for one of the top
five girls basketball teams in the 9th Region for the second time in four years,
size won out.

The
Highlands Bluebirds (23-7) used it to create turnovers and constantly attack
the basket to create things offensively. They ended up making an astounding
23-of-25 free-throw attempts for 92 percent on their way to a 48-40 36th
District Semifinal win over the Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds on
Tuesday.

“Every one of our starters had started in a district
tournament before,” said Jaime
Walz-Richey, Highlands head coach. “We
thought we had the advantage there. We were more of a veteran team than NC was.
That paid off with all the free throws we made.”

Highlands
made 13 of those 14 attempts in the fourth quarter after NewCath drew to within
two twice. Freshman Brianna Adler made 10-of-11 free throws on her way to a
team-high 12 points, including 7-of-8 in the fourth quarter.

Senior
Jesse “Dirt” Daley set the tone in the paint for Highlands. She scored 11 points
making 3-of-4 free throws. Daley and the other five seniors were freshmen in
2010 when NewCath eliminated Highlands, 55-47 in the 36th Semfinals at Newport
High.

“When we were sitting in the locker room after the
game my freshman year, we said as a class that we were not going to let our
senior year end like that,” Daley
said. “That was our goal. We were
determined to not let it happen.”

NewCath had
won the previous eight meetings dating back to a 54-48 Highlands win on Jan. 9,
2009 in Fort Thomas. The Thoroughbreds (20-10) had won the previous four
district championships, including the 9th Region in 2011.

NewCath was
not the only one of what many considered the Top 5 teams in the region to lose
Tuesday. Boone County beat Conner in overtime and Covington Holmes edged
Covington Holy Cross. The only difference is the other three districts received
seeds. The teams will be seeded next year as Newport cast the deciding vote.

“It’s ashaim. It’s good for next year, but who knows
what’s going to happen the year after that and the year after that,” said George Stoll, NewCath head coach of the blind
draw. “It will hopefully be a good thing
next year for both of our sake. Plus, we have it on our home floor. It was
obviously a big deal (Tuesday) and we hope it’s a big deal for us next year.”

Highlands and
NewCath have voted for seeds for years. The volleyball teams received them in
the fall and the baseball and softball teams will be seeded in the spring.

“We’re really, really happy,” said Stephanie Lewis, NewCath forward. “It’s just more fair to have seeds. The top
two teams should be able to go to region every year.”

Highlands
faces the winner of Wednesday’s Bellevue (16-14) and Newport (17-11) game for
the district championship Friday at 7 p.m. back home. The Bluebirds did not
play Bellevue, but beat Newport, 66-33 in Fort Thomas on Dec. 10. The Bluebirds
will be going for the eighth consecutive win and first district championship
since winning consecutive crowns in 2007 and 2008.

NewCath
will not make the regional tournament for the first time since 2008. Highlands
beat NewCath that year, 62-51 when the two drew each other in the opening round
of the tournament.

NewCath
also shot free throws well, but did not make it to the line near as much as
Highlands. The Thoroughbreds hit 8-of-9 attempts.

Junior
standout Nikki Kiernan again led the way making all five free throws on her way
to a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds in addition to blocking three
shots despite picking up two fouls in the first half. Alexus Mayes finished
with seven points and seven rebounds.

Stephanie
Lewis tried to pick up some of the slack. She made two three-pointers on her
way to 10 points and Ansley Davenport made the other two NewCath triples.

“We wanted to let them to shoot the three,” Richey said. “We
were going to take a chance there. It paid off.”

Highlands
outscored NewCath, 15-6 in points off the bench. Vanessa Fisse scored nine
points making a three-pointer and all four free throws and Alex Combs scored
six.

“We’d really been working on our free throws because
those are key in crucial games like this,” Fisse said. “We’ve been
consistent the past few games. It was awesome.”

The
Bluebirds also won the rebounding battle 34-28. Ava Abner led Highlands with 11
rebounds and Leah Schaefer followed with nine to go with six points.

“We played a 2-3 zone against them the first time,” Richey said. “But
we didn’t rebound well. We rebounded pretty well (Tuesday).”

Highlands
recorded 14 steals on 15 NewCath turnovers compared to nine steals on 13
turnovers for the Thoroughbreds. All eight players recorded steals for the
Bluebirds led by three from Abner and Adler.

NewCath led
8-6 after the first quarter before Highlands took the lead for good at the end
of the second. Daley hit a jumper with 30 seconds remaining to give the
Bluebirds a 17-15 halftime lead.

The largest
lead of the third quarter for Highlands was eight twice. Fisse made a
three-pointer with 2:20 left to give the Bluebirds a 29-21 lead before making
two free throws to give Highlands a 31-23 lead before Michaela Ware made a
jumper to trim the margin to 31-25 entering the fourth quarter.

The
Thoroughbreds trimmed the deficit to two three times in the fourth quarter. But
the Bluebirds responded with a crucial bucket or free throws every time.

“We couldn’t tie it or take the lead,” Stoll said. “We
couldn’t get over that hump. That was the biggest difference.”

Adler made
a free throw with 1:15 left in the game to make the score 42-37 Highlands.
Adler, Abner and Combs then made two free throws each to put the game away in
the final 1:03.

“Our number one priority all year was getting ready
for this game,” Combs said. “It means a lot. It pulled us together as a
team.”

NewCath
still had a good season despite its youth. The Thoroughbreds bettered last year’s
win total by a game and finished All “A” State Runner-Up. They graduate just
Jillian Hoover from this year’s team. Hoover unfortunately played just 10
seconds this year and scored a bucket on her senior night because of a torn
Anterior Cruciated Ligament.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

This marks
the last year of the blind draw in the 36th District basketball tournament at
least until the schools vote on it next year.

That’s
unless the Kentucky High School Athletic Association steps forward to put an
end to that. For those wondering, the baseball and softball teams will be
seeded in the spring like the volleyball teams were in the fall.

Like I said
a few weeks ago, it is too bad because one of the top five teams in the 9th
Region will not be playing in it next week on the girls side. Then on the boys
side, the best team faces arguably the third-best team in the district instead
of the second and third meeting in the semifinals like it would be if the teams
were seeded.

Girls:

This means
that there will be a lot of excitement in the semifinal game Tuesday between
Highlands (22-7) and Newport Central Catholic (20-9) as neither team wants its
season to end.

The host
Highlands Bluebirds boys basketball team wanted to carry some momentum into the
postseason.

They
continued their late-season surge with a 49-38 9th Region win over the
Beechwood Tigers on Friday. Highlands won its final three regular-season
contests to enter tournament play 12-15 overall after winning just 10 games all
of last season. The Bluebirds moved to 5-10 in region play.

The
Bluebirds had to come from behind once again outscoring the Tigers (8-20), 22-6
in the fourth quarter. Highlands hit 8-of-13 free throws for 62 percent in that
quarter and 11-of-18 for 61 percent for the game.

If you told
head coach Jaime Walz-Richey the Highlands Bluebirds girls basketball team
would commit 22 turnovers against the Simon Kenton Lady Pioneers, she said
Highlands “would get blown out.”

But
instead, the Bluebirds recorded a huge win to finish the regular season, 55-47
on Senior Night on Thursday in Fort Thomas. Highlands concluded the regular season with a six-game
winning streak to improve to 22-7 for the most wins since the 2008-09 squad
finished 25-6.

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds
boys basketball team wanted to finish the regular season strong and avoid a
repeat of last year.

The Thoroughbreds accomplished
both feats with a convincing 79-49 win over the Conner Cougars in Hebron on Thursday.
Conner (12-14) came to the Hill last year and upset NewCath, 49-47 in the
season finale.

The Thoroughbreds finished the
season with a 16-game winning streak to record the best regular season in
school history at 28-2. NewCath also leads Kentucky with the most wins and
finished 11-0 on the road, 9-0 on neutral-site games, and 8-2 at home. The
Thoroughbreds also won the All “A” State Tournament in Frankfort in January.

NewCath saw four players reach
double-digits in the win. Jake Schulte and Michael Bueter led the way with 18
points each with Colin Dupont adding 13.